Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) in September reached $3.23 billion, 2.6 percent higher than the $3.15 billion recorded in the same month last year.

The growth in personal remittances in September was driven by increased remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.

Similarly, the total personal remittances received from OFs in January to September amounted to $27.24 billion, up by 2.8 percent from $26.49 billion registered in the comparable period in 2022.

Of the personal remittances, cash remittances sent through banks grew by 2.6 percent to $2.91 billion in September from $2.84 billion in the same month of the previous year. The growth in cash remittances in September was due to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers.

On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances for the first nine months of the year amounted to $24.49 billion, a 2.8 percent increase from the $23.83 billion received during the same period of the previous year.

The growth in cash remittances from the United States , Saudi Arabia, and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first three quarters of 2023.

In terms of the countries where these remittances originate, the US had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. BSP